


the best medicine

by arukana



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Bottom Akechi Goro, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:07:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29480421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arukana/pseuds/arukana
Summary: Akira and Yu are sick. Goro is way out of his depth.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 4 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Persona 4 Protagonist/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	the best medicine

**Author's Note:**

> happy (late) valentines day ! this is a gift to the person i got in a gift exchange !!! idk if they would like to be named but ,, happy valentines day <3

Valentine's day is always a wonderful occasion in the Narukami-Kurusu-Akechi household.

It's tradition at this point: the morning spent in their shared bedroom until they become too starved for something more than their lovers' touch. Yu and Goro have Ren make breakfast while they make out some more on the couch. Ren always complains about that one. Goro always tells him he'll make up for it double later. Breakfast is a difficult affair, there's always at least one person who didn't get enough and becomes particularly handsy and distracting (More often than not, it's all three of them). Which always leads them to round three or seven or thirty six, depending on how much sleep they got. The rest of the day passes in a blur of sex and takeout and bad romcoms.

So, suffice to say, Goro's looking forward to going to bed when he comes home this Valentine's eve.

Ren's been home all day, completely alone. Yu's not due back for another hour or so. Goro  _ might _ be hoping to get some early celebration in.

However, as soon as he steps foot in their apartment, yelling out the usual, "Honey, I'm home!" something feels off. There's no sound of someone immediately dropping whatever they were doing and running to greet their boyfriend, no hollered return greeting, nothing to signify any life in their home whatsoever. The lights aren't even switched on.

"Ren?" he calls into the empty living room space, craning his neck to see into the dark kitchen space.

A brief moment of panic jumps up on him; something triggered by a past much left buried. Images of double, triple, quadruple locked doors flash behind his eyes, a gun under his pillow with his finger on the trigger guard all night, pretend murmurs on a pretend ship about a pretend man cleaning up real mistakes. And it's that, combined with a learned fear that has him scrambling to search the rest of the house, bathroom first, bedroom second.

Of course, Goro's traumatised monkey brain should've checked the bedroom first, because there in the bed lies Ren, blissfully unconscious and unaware of how much damage he is doing to Goro's blood pressure.

Seeing him makes all the stress and tension of the day (and the last five minutes) flow out of his body like a much needed exhale. His briefcase falls to the floor as he sinks to his knees at Ren's bedside, arms reaching out to touch his hair on instinct. It's soft and grounding and safe. A flood of warmth hits Goro, alongside a pang of sadness that he can't do this all weekend.

However much he wants to wake his boyfriend up with a nice blowjob, it'd probably be for the best to let him sleep.

Goro's therapist has been trying to get him to stop denying himself when things are good, though, so a few more minutes can't hurt. He lets his fingers brush through Ren's hair, moving it off of his forehead. His face scrunches as he realises that the hair between his fingers is wet, damp and sticking to the skin underneath. Ren's sweating profusely, and a test of the back of Goro's hand against Ren's temple shows that he's burning up.

"Ren?" he says lightly, attempting to gently rouse him with his hands. "Wake up."

Ren's brow furrows in his sleep as he paws at Goro's hands, groaning out unhappy sounds.

"Wake up. You're burning up."

Ren's hands come up to grab Goro's wrist, stilling it, as he slowly wakes up. "What do you want?" he whines.

"Are you feeling alright?" Goro shifts, using his other hand to inspect Ren's temperature.

Ren swats at him again, "I'm cold, stop it."

Begrudgingly, Goro removes his hands. "You have a fever," he says, "where did you put the ibuprofen?"

"'M not sick," Ren says, very convincingly.

Goro rolls his eyes, "Ibuprofen— where is it?"

Groaning, Ren turns over on his side, "Bathroom cabinet."

Their bathroom cabinet is overflowing; of course it would be, when it contains Yu's prozac, Ren's zoloft and Goro's xanax, alongside other miscellaneous pills for day-to-day injuries and illness. Organising it has been on the list of household chores for months now, but they're usually all too busy or too tired to actually get around to it, so now Goro has to scour through the mess.

And, well, mostly whenever Goro needs painkillers, he'll deny even feeling pained until Ren comes at him with a cup of water and two pills in hand. So he isn't 100% on what he's looking for.

He half-considers giving up and going to ask his sick boyfriend for a hint before the front door opens. "Hello?" Goro's almost expecting it to be Ryuji or Ann or Haru, or perhaps all three, armed with bowls of chicken-soup and a sixth sense for their friend’s health. There's no response, though, so he kicks the bathroom door open all the way to see for himself. There's a lump on the couch that he recognises as one Yu Narukami.

Exhaling his relief, he cranes his neck, "You're home early. Rough day?"

The lump on the couch grunts.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Another grunt. Goro takes that as a negative.

"Alright. Do you happen to know which one of these is the best for a fever?"

The couch-lump shifts, revealing a beet-red face surrounded by grey hair. "What for? You feeling unwell?"

"Not me. Ren has a fever," he says, words accompanied by the rustling of metal foils and plastic. The noise covers the sound of Yu getting up, shucking clothes as he goes, headed for the bedroom. "Don't go in there!" Goro yells.

Yu doesn't listen. Stupid Wildcards.

With no help, it takes Goro another few minutes to sort through the medications before he finds what he's looking for. He takes it, fills a cup with water, then hesitates; it's probably not a good idea if he catches Ren's illness. He's hit with a wave of fear just  _ thinking _ about all the work he'll have to catch up on if he gets sick, lectures and assignments and entire chapters worth of readings. So, for safety, he pulls on rubber kitchen gloves and a face-mask they've had lying around.

Yu and Ren are spooning when he finally returns. Ren's fallen right back to sleep, and Yu shushes Goro in a whisper as he flicks on the light switch. "I told you not to come in here," Goro scolds, gingerly placing the cup and pills on the bedside table, "he might be infectious."

"You worry too much. I'm already sick, Goro," Yu grumbles, tucking his chin against Ren's upper arm.

Well. Fuck.

"Really?"

"S'why I'm home early."

There's a moment of silence where Goro is pretty sure he should say something comforting, he even opens his mouth to attempt it before realising that this is definitely not his area of expertise. Comfort and care are things that have never come naturally to Goro, even with the years of experience he has from his relationship with two human equivalents of the world's most attention-starved and needy pets.

He can't even make himself call upon the wealth of memories he has of Yu and Ren taking care of him whilst sick, or when he's overworked himself so badly that he can barely move. It makes a hard guilt start to form in his gut.

A part of him wants to crawl into bed with them and complain. But there's no reason they all should get sick, so he just murmurs out a, "It's Valentine's day."

Yu hums, playing with Ren's hair, "I know, babe."

It feels sort of pathetic. They shouldn't have to be comforting him. He should be there with a wet cloth for their forehead and a loving hand to hold. It's what they would do. It's what his boyfriends  _ deserve  _ after all he's made them go through. So he makes the decision.

"I'm going to take care of you two."

"Thank you, but," Yu smiles so much his eyes crinkle at the corners, "I think we'll be fine on our own for a while."

"I have time to prepare then-," he starts.

"You don't have to," Yu interrupts.

"I want to." It's the least he can do to repay their endless kindness to him. Even when he hasn’t deserved it.

Yu yawns and relents, "Okay."

Goro tosses him the strip of ibuprofen, "You have a fever too?" The only response is a tired, affirming hum. "Any other symptoms?"

"Headache. Fatigue. Sniffles. My throat itches a little," he says, "but don't worry, okay?"

"Of course not," Goro says, as he opens up WebMD's symptom checker on his phone.

* * *

ex phantom thieves  
  
Ren and Yu are sick. If any of you had plans this weekend, consider them cancelled.  
Ann  
oh no!! do u guys need anything?  
Makoto  
Hope they get well soon. You too, Goro. You wouldn't want to miss our test next week.  
I’m not sick. I assure you I am taking every precaution.  
Ann, I think we should be fine. Things seem mild right now.  
Futaba  
r u prepared if things get worse tho?  
Ann  
futaba!  
Futaba  
what? i don't want this clown taking care of my brother if he starts projectile vomiting blood  
I’m quite certain it won’t come to that.  
Ryuji  
tabas got a point bro  
Yusuke  
Unfortunately, I must agree  
Ryuji  
ur not rly the most carin guy kechi  
Haru  
I’m sure Akechi can handle a few days! We should have faith in him.  
Thank you, Okumura. I’ve actually been doing a lot of research into illness and the best ways to combat it. So, while I thank you for your concern, it is not necessary.  
Ann  
there’s no shame in asking for help tho!  
Of course not.  


* * *

A while later, Goro has set up their humidifier, sent off an email asking for an extension on his coursework, and successfully fended off three panic attacks each time the internet told him his boyfriends were terminally ill. So he's feeling quite proud of himself, given the circumstances.

And then, of course, his stomach grumbles; helpfully reminding him that he is now responsible for cooking dinner. The thought of takeout crosses his mind, as it always does when Goro is faced with the prospect of cooking, but he very quickly decides that he should probably at least  _ attempt _ something nutritious.

His mind recalls memories of the last time he found himself struck by illness. Ren had made him the most heavenly chicken soup known to man, and Ren deserves that in return. Goro owes it to them, really. And he's sure he can manage it: being the World's Greatest House-Husband for the weekend, even if nothing about that has ever been remotely in his wheelhouse.

Goro looks in their fridge, scanning over the ingredients he sees Ren and occasionally Yu pour into bowls and hold over the stove and stir into a delicious meal. A lot of the things he thinks he might be able to replicate aren't really something you would feed a sick person; things that are too spicy or sweet or extravagant.

There's a can of soup in one of the cupboards. Goro doesn't really know how long it's been there, that's usually Ren's job, but anything in a can should be fine, right? He can make little pieces of dipping bread, too. That's maybe what he'd want if he was sick, something basic with a little flavour.

Though, maybe canned soup isn't enough effort. Ren would at least make soup from scratch, if not the bread too. He remembers seeing a link to a specific kind of healthy, immune system boosting soup when he was researching earlier, maybe that would be good. And his boyfriends deserve the best.

Once he convinces himself, he scrolls through his history to find the recipe and sets off to work, pouring things into a pan and trying his best to replicate behaviours he's seen Ren do in the kitchen a thousand times before.

It doesn't take long for Yu to leave the bedroom, all tired eyes and runny nose. "Goro?"

Goro jumps so hard the soup almost spills, "What? Go back to bed." He makes little shooing motions with his hands.

"Ren wanted some water," Yu says, ignoring Goro and coming closer anyway.

Goro pulls out two glasses for him, "I'll get it. Stay there."

There's a moment of quiet between the two, the only sounds the running tap and Yu's congested breaths. "Something smells," he says, "like burning."

Goro's brow furrows, before he allows himself to inhale deeply despite the risk of infection. "Shit," he whispers, turning to the toaster. The bread that pops out is practically charred. "Fuck. I think it's broken."

"It's not broken. You just didn't set it correctly," Yu attempts to come closer again, to grab the toast and dispose of it, but Goro stops him. "You know, you don't have to make dinner. We can just order food."

Goro slides the two glasses across the counter, "You're sick. I'm not feeding you something that would just make you feel worse."

"I'm sure we could find something-,"

"Shush," Goro orders, "go back to bed. I'm not completely incompetent."

"Yes, sir," Yu chuckles, a wheezy hoarseness now obvious. He turns back just before closing the door, "You might wanna check the soup."

Behind Goro, the soup is bubbling, threatening to spill over the edge. "Fuck."

* * *

After dinner, Goro finds out how to make homemade medicine. It looks promising, but unfortunately it doesn't smell so good once it's complete.

"For God's sake, Ren, you need to eat this if you want to feel better."

"I don't need it! I'm fine," the hoarseness of Ren's voice cancelling out any confidence he attempts to portray.

Goro pulls the spoon away from his boyfriend as he turns his head, "Don't be a petulant child!"

The mask across his face must muffle his frustration, because Ren sticks out his tongue and blows a raspberry. Goro's reflexes almost make him drop the spoon, instinctively trying to avoid his germs. Ren's slobber doesn't even make it that far to begin with, the droplets falling onto the duvet beneath his chin.

"That's it," Goro says, turning to his other sick patient, "Yu, come here."

Yu, who had held his nose and taken his dose like a good boy, crawls across the bed groggily. Goro takes Yu's chin in his free, gloved hand before he can get too close, and redirects him to lie across Ren, keeping him still.

Ren struggles feebly, his sickness now having whittled away his strength to almost nothing; his mouth opens on instinct as he tries to push Yu off. "Grr-t off," he groans, voice hoarse and sore. Goro strikes at the perfect moment, pouring the liquid down Ren's throat and holding his chin closed.

"Swallow," he orders, pulling his face away from his own shoulder to keep his distance, "or you won't like what happens to you."

Ren has no choice but to relent, and Goro watches his throat intensely just to make sure he isn't pulling any tricks. "Good," he exhales, placing the spoon on the nightstand. He starts to clean up, collecting used tissues and the cutlery used at dinner onto a tray. He realises that the bowl of soup he'd made is still over half full. Frowning, he places the bowl on Ren's lap, "You should finish the soup."

Ren and Yu exchange glances, "I'm not hungry right now."

"It's good for you."

"Yeah," Ren nods, "I'm just feeling nauseous."

Somehow, Goro doesn't believe him. "Why didn't you tell me before I had to force-feed you your medicine?"

"I... forgot." Even Yu groans at that.

"You forgot you were sick?"

"... Yeah."

Goro sighs, rolling his eyes. He takes the bowl back with a little more force than strictly necessary and dumps it on the dinner tray. "If you hate my cooking, you can tell me. I'm a grown man."

"The soup sucks," Ren says.

"Your soup's great," Yu says, at the same time.

" _ You _ didn't eat the soup either," he near-growls, pointing an accusatory spoon at Yu.

Yu balks, "I'm also feeling nauseous."

"I'm also feeling nauseous," Goro mocks, dropping the spoon back into the filled bowl and creating a mess in the process. "What do you want to eat, then?"

"It's fine, Goro. We can just order-," Yu starts, only to be interrupted by Ren.

"I want Leblanc curry."

Yu hits Ren across the ear.

* * *

ex phantom thieves  
  
Ann  
how are they doing?  
When they get better I am going to kill them :)  
Futaba  
oof  
that bad huh  
Ann  
oh no  
They are not eating the nutritious soup recipe I found online. Ren is demanding Leblanc's curry and coffee combination instead.  
Ryuji  
i can bring sum over if u need it  
I'm afraid the nutritional value of Leblanc curry leaves much to be desired.  
Haru  
Sometimes comfort food can be the best thing when you're feeling under the weather!  
As soon as they recover they can indulge in all the comforts their hearts desire. I need them to get better so I can return to my university work.  
Ann  
let us know if you need any help k?  
I appreciate that, but I have everything under control.  
Futaba  
wtf is in the soup  
Mainly cabbage. I saw that it was good for detoxing. I did add some lemon juice, turmeric and chili power for flavour, apparently they also have health benefits.  
However, we are out of chili powder, so I had to substitute that with chili paste.  
Ryuji  
dude...  
Futaba  
you fucking monster  
I beg your pardon?  
Ann  
i'm speechless  
Yusuke  
I am unsure if even I would partake.  
Ryuji  
yea n yusuke lived off paint for a yr  
Yusuke  
I would never eat paint. What a waste.  
Haru  
I can ship over some chili powder if you would like, Akechi.  
Futaba  
haru we have bigger issues here  
i am sending ryuji over with curry  
ask yu what he wants  
Ryuji  
dnt i get a say in this  
Futaba  
no <3  


* * *

Sure enough, about an hour later, there's a knock on the apartment door. Well, two, actually, since Goro is so engrossed in getting down  _ something _ for his project this weekend. Ryuji, or whoever Futaba ended up enrolling in her scheme, has already left by the sound of footsteps descending the stairwell; with only a plastic bag full of takeout containers and three coffee cups left in their wake.

He sets everything up in the kitchen, one hand sipping his drink, the other holding his phone.  _ Should you drink coffee whilst sick? _ he Googles.

After losing a few minutes to extensively researching the effects of coffee on the immune system, he settles on pouring the takeout cups into much smaller glasses and downing the rest himself. God knows, he'll need it.

As he pulls up his gloves, he sets out organising the food into plates and bowls, and putting them all together on a tray alongside their cups and a few vitamin C capsules. When he opens the door, he almost drops everything he's carrying.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asks, stomping across the floor as he witnesses his sick boyfriends making out and practically humping each other in bed.

Yu waves him off, but Ren detaches himself to answer, "What does it look like?" Goro watches as Yu's lips slide down Ren's neck. He swallows hard.

"You two are supposed to be sick," he says, gingerly putting down the tray, steadfastly ignoring how his hands sweat. "You're exchanging germs, stop."

Ren's fingers twist in Yu's grey hair, "It's not like we're gonna get sicker, babe."

"You need rest," Goro crosses his arms across his chest to hide the way his fingers itch, "to  _ relax _ ."

"Mm," Ren hums as Yu's hands disappear under the sheets, "I can relax after this. I'll relax better."

"It's not funny. I'm trying to take care of you."

Ren gives a hoarse chuckle, "If you really wanna take care of us, you should help out."

Despite every nerve in his stupid, horny body telling him otherwise, he shakes his head. "Don't be an idiot. I don't want to get sick."

With a wet sound, Yu pulls away to rest his head beside Ren's. "Are you saying you don't want to? You could take such good care of us."

Goro just stares at him and wills his cock to ignore the words.

"You'd be the best caretaker ever, babe," Ren winks.

"You two are evil."

"Yeah," Ren admits.

Goro pulls off his socks with the opposite foot, "Pure evil." Ren and Yu both catcall and wolf whistle at him as he undoes the buckle of his belt with slender fingers. Yu pulls back the corner of the covers, shuffling over to make room for Goro. Goro accepts his space in the middle of their sickbed gratefully.

"This is gross," he whispers, but he still allows Ren to slot their lips together in that perfect way they always do. "You're so sweaty."

"Is that a complaint?" Ren murmurs against his lips.

"Shut up," Goro groans as both Yu and Ren's fingers busy themselves with opening up his shirt. "You two seriously couldn't wait a few days?"

Yu laughs, breath hot against Goro's skin, "You're the one who couldn't wait." His fingers push past the fabric of Goro's touch, the soft pads of his thumb grazing against sensitive buds. The feeling makes Goro squirm. "Needy?" Yu asks.

"Shut  _ up _ ," Goro repeats, instinctually grabbing Yu's wrist but not pulling or pushing, just holding on. "Let's go."

"Impatient," Ren scoffs thickly. He weakly kicks himself out of the blankets, shuffling out of his pajama pants as he goes. Goro's gaze focuses itself on the way Ren's dick bounces; his ears hear the dull thud as it smacks his own stomach. The focus is only broken when Ren takes himself in hand and starts stroking.

"No," Goro says, batting him away, "let me." That is the whole point of the exercise after all; for Goro to be the one taking care of them.

He mimics Ren, shucking the rest of his clothes and crawling down the bed, until he's at the perfect angle to take Ren into his mouth. There's a hand in his hair immediately as he sinks down and he doesn't know or care whose it is, even as it twists and pulls at the strands.

The flesh feels hotter under his skin, salty with sweat and pre. Goro doesn't care, it makes him feel wilder; he feels himself heating up with passion and desire at the taste. He pushes himself deeper, harder, until he hears groans from above.

Yu's lips are on his ear, kissing and licking at the skin. It's disgusting, really, when Goro thinks about the germ exchange, but he can't make himself care as he leans into the touch. "You're so good, Goro. Doing so well," Yu murmurs, his fingers travelling down the curve of Goro's spine to land on his ass with a quick swat.

There's a distinct slick chill of the fingers when paired with the warmth in his mouth, a feeling Goro knows all too well. As best he can, he shoots Yu a meaningful look, giving permission.

Yu shoots him a sleepy smile before gently pressing a sole finger against Goro's rim, pushing at the flesh until it makes room and invites him in. Goro groans softly, making Ren groan in turn.

Despite how much Goro wiggles in a wordless attempt to get Yu to hurry up, Yu stretches him slowly and delicately. He always does, like he doesn't know Goro likes it when it hurts a little. There's this silent knowledge between all three of them; they all know it makes Goro feel a little vulnerable. It makes Goro feel taken care of.

It's the little things, Goro realises (which is sort of an uncomfortable thought with two-  _ three  _ fingers in his ass). There's no need for overthought, grand gestures between the three of them. He feels a little bit stupid.

And then those three fingers graze his prostate and all rational thought leaves him. As if Yu can see him spiralling and knows what he needs.

Goro angles himself so that the fingers keep fucking against that spot, but it's like Yu is purposefully missing it. Like he wants Goro to grow desperate and greedy for it. Goro just moans something that sounds a lot like a  _ 'please' _ against Ren's cock.

The fingers in his hair grow tighter, Ren's congested voice above him praying out, "Oh God, God. That's so good."

Goro hums a positive, letting the vibrations tingle against the sensitive skin. Ren starts to properly buck with a growled expletive, the head of his cock brushing the back of Goro's throat on each thrust. Doing his best not to gag, Goro speeds up; he knows all the signs by now, knows when Ren's close on body language alone.

With Goro's mouth occupied, Yu says the words Goro's dying to. "You gonna come, Ren? Goro wants it so bad, he's been taking such good care of you." Goro makes a choked off crying sound, the words getting to him just as much as they're getting to Ren. "Come for him, Ren."

Yu brushes the thumb of his free hand down Ren's hip, soothing him as he comes down Goro's throat. Goro keeps going until Ren gives a delicate squeak, the signal to pull back and rest his head on Ren's thigh. "You sound really good when you're sick," Goro says before his brain can turn back on to stop himself.

Ren snorts, fingers brushing Goro's hair out of his face softly, "Did we just unlock a new kink?"

"Shut up," Goro grunts as he slaps Ren's hand away. "Lay down," he says to Yu who complies easily, fingers retracting with an obscene squelch.

As Goro clambers over him, knees either side, Yu smiles up at him. "You're gonna take care of me?" he asks, hands coming to rest at Goro's waist.

"Yes," Goro says humourlessly, grabbing at Yu's cock to grind it against his ass, "you want me to dress up like a nurse too?"

Yu looks like he's considering it, which Goro is not really opposed to, but the principle of it earns him a scratched thigh. Ren laughs, coming to kneel beside Goro and plant kisses on his shoulder. With a free hand, Goro runs fingers up Ren's side until they tangle in his hair; a wordless demand for more.

"Ready?" Yu asks, taking initiative as he pushes Goro's hand off his cock and presses the head against Goro's rim.

Goro hums an affirmation, using all the muscle in his thighs to slowly sink down. A groan slips through his nose as he watches Yu force his head back into the pillows, an uncharacteristic reedy whine coming from his lips.

Pulling away from Goro's skin, Ren chuckles at Yu's noises as Goro waits to adjust to the feeling of fullness. "Does he sound better when he's sick, too?"

"I didn't-  _ mhn _ \- say you sounded  _ better _ ."

It's Yu's turn to laugh then, "Only you would argue semantics during sex."

"You love it," Goro smirks, rolling his hips to wipe the lovestruck grin off of his lover's face.

It doesn't take them long to work up to their regular pace; rough and loving, filling the room with harsh, croaked groans and skin-on-skin and the heated smell of sweat. At some point, Ren's slender hands find their way to Goro's cock, tugging and rubbing while his mouth whispers disgusting things in his ear.

Even with Ren's dirty cheating, Yu still comes first, writhing underneath Goro until he's completely spent. Goro rides him through it, not stopping until he comes a minute or so later.

The sex seems to have exhausted Goro. He can't even find the strength to go shower; he just allows himself to flop down on the bed in between his boyfriends. "Is the food cold?" he says, voice coming out sharper than he expects.

Ren takes the trays, helping himself to a mouthful of Goro's portion, "Seems alright to me."

"Give it here," Goro says, taking his plate and barely hesitating before stuffing his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be feeding us, nurse Goro?" Ren snickers as he hands out the rest of the food.

Goro grunts, headbutting Ren's shoulder. "Be quiet."

* * *

Obviously, that's enough to get Goro sick too.

And he seems to be sicker for a lot longer than Ren and Yu were combined. At least all the research he'd done seemed to be correct.

Neither of Ren or Yu are big supporters of the science of boosting the immune system. They both much prefer the science of cuddles and kisses. On more than one occasion Goro has threatened to get out of bed and start caring for himself, but all three of them know how empty that threat is.

Goro thinks they might be giving in when they walk in the room one dinner with a cabbage soup they claim is based off of Goro's recipe.

Then Goro tastes it.

Maybe Futaba was right. Maybe he *is* a monster.

Either way, he drains the entire bowl, just to prove a point. And, yeah, he earns his swollen pride and big head...

But it also earns him that exact soup every night for dinner until he recovers.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u to my geef for being the World's Best Editor (and my biggest supporter)


End file.
